Man-made global warming: new religion?

Man-made global warming: new religion?

Michael Gilchrist

Nowhere today is the human race's tendency to
follow fashion, regardless of facts or social and economic
realities, more evident than in the remarkable manner in which the
"truth" of man-made global warming is being embraced
with an almost religious fervour by politicians, journalists and
some Christian leaders.

Predicting weather patterns is a notoriously
imprecise science, even from week to week, let alone over the next
century with the aid of computer models. Yet those who point this
out are derided as "sceptics" by the true
believers.

There are billions of pieces of information
about weather which can be programmed to "prove"
almost anything about the future with the help of computers. The
more reliable approach is to investigate past temperature
fluctuations through the study of ice cores, tree rings or plant
remains. These and other tried and tested scientific approaches can
identify climate patterns over many thousands of years, which in
turn can shed light on likely future trends.

As the article by Peter Finlayson (pages 6-7)
indicates, solid scientific evidence points to cycles of warming
and cooling over periods of around 1,500 years. The earth is
currently in a warming period which began in the 19th century,
similar to what occurred in ancient Rome and during the middle ages
(when agriculture flourished in Greenland). There is nothing
unusual about the present slight rise in average global
temperature.

In addition, increasing levels of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere do not cause a rise in the average global
temperature. Ambitious programs to reduce carbon
"footprints" are therefore a waste of time and money,
even if they enable those spending taxpayers' money to
occupy the moral high ground.

Indeed, much of the present mania about alleged
man-made global warming resembles a new fundamentalist
"religion" conveniently filling the spiritual vacuum
for some in our secular age. Such people, it seems, have a
deep-felt need to fear a future apocalypse, experience a newfound
sense of guilt and do penance, all because of mankind's sins
against Mother Earth.

This is not to question sensible measures to
reduce or eliminate local air and water pollution, protect
endangered species or to look for alternative forms of energy. But
let's keep these separate from any Green "religion".

Michael Gilchrist is Editor of AD2000 (email
address available on request).